


An arrangement?

by DorkWingsRise



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU, Aged Up, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:55:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27910360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DorkWingsRise/pseuds/DorkWingsRise
Summary: Marinette's internship at Agreste is about to turn in to her dream job.  The only problem is that Gabriel prefers married employees (and if there is a line between Gabriel's preferences and iron-clad requirements, that line is not present in the employee handbook.)based on a clever prompt by InkyCoffee.  I'm not at all sure if this is what you had in mind, but it sounded too fun and I had to take a shot at it :)
Relationships: Chloé Bourgeois/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 16
Kudos: 142





	An arrangement?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [InkyCoffee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkyCoffee/gifts).



“Miss Dupain-Cheng, so glad that you could join me.Please sit.We have much to discuss.”

Marinette stepped deeper into Gabriel Agreste’s office, her mind racing, her legs shaking.“Thank you, Sir.I hope that there haven’t been any problems with my work?”

“Your work? Of course not.If there had been problems with your work, I assure you that your exit interview would not be with me.”Gabriel paused, his eyebrows furrowed.“I see great promise in your work, Miss Dupain-Cheng.Perhaps you might exert yourself to see the same.”

“I will, Sir.I mean, I do, Sir.”

“I must say, however, that you have reached that point in your tenure here where an internship serves neither of us well.If you are to grow,I must grant you responsibilities that I would never grant an intern.And if I am to gain any benefit from your skills, then you must grow.”

Marinette’s heart nearly stopped beating.She had taken a real risk in choosing this internship over the scholarship atESMOD.Working full time at Agreste under the guiding hand of Gabriel was her dream.Was it about to come true?

“However, there is a problem, Miss Dupain-Cheng.I refer you to page 17 of the terms of work here, which I am confident you studied carefully before signing.”

Marinette’s mind went blank.She had skimmed the thing without paying too much attention.She knew that she’d do whatever it took to work at Agreste.There really couldn’t be a problem, could there?

“Sir, the specific details of page 17 may have slipped my mind since I signed.I’ve been so caught up in hemline revisions for your autumn line—”

“Then allow me to refresh your memory,” Gabriel said with an icy smile.You have been with us for two years now, two satisfactory years.You will soon reach 21 years of age.On paragraph 3 of page 17, the terms of work clearly state that workers over the age of 21 must be married.There are, of course, exceptions for divorce or tragic loss.Are you divorced, Miss Dupain-Cheng, or have you experienced tragic loss?”

“N-no, Sir?”

“Then I am sure you can appreciate the problem you and I face.I’d like to keep you on with Agreste.I am willing to offer you a handsome salary and benefits package in return for your single-minded effort and attention to detail.But the moral foundation of Agreste is based on the sober shoulders of family.Sober shoulders which you lack.”

“There doesn’t need to be a problem, Sir, because—um.”

“Because?”

“Because I’m engaged!Yeah! And I’ll have just the shoulders you are looking for by the time I’m 21!”

“Such unexpected news, Miss Dupain-Cheng.How notable that my team knew nothing of your happy state.Very well.Kindly submit your marriage license to Miss Sancoeur as soon as you have one.We will discuss your future here in more detail at that time.”

\-------------- 

Breaking a string of long workdays, Marinette fled immediately at 1700.Her dream was so close, but it was impossible.She hadn’t been on a date in forever.Who had time to date, anyway?It took every bit of discipline that she had to keep her pace slow and her cheeks dry. _I will not let them see me cry!_ She blew out a long breath and scanned the street. Just down the block was _Le Grand Paris_ , soothing home of plush chairs, perfect air conditioning, and a bar that didn’t get very busy at all until after dinner.She picked her way through traffic and in no time was sipping a daiquiri.

“Day-drinking, Dupain-Cheng?I didn’t think that was your vibe?”

Marinette looked up from the faint glow of her drink to see the smirk of Chloe Bourgeois.“Chloe.This is really not the time—“

Chloe’s smirk deepened, seeing that she had Marinette at a disadvantage.“You are drinking in my hotel at my bar.Of course, this is the time.”Chloe stepped toward Marinette, and they exchanged kisses.“Why is your cheek salty?Have you been crying?”

“If you must know, yes, I’ve been crying.Chloe, I’m screwed. I am so, so screwed!”

Chloe frowned and signaled to the bartender before sitting next to Marinette.“Talk to me.Maybe I can help you sort things out.Or maybe it will just help to talk about it.I’ll behave, I promise.”

Marinette stared at her drink.“How much do you know about working for Agreste?”

“I mean, I know I’d never do it.Uncle Gabriel and I get along best with a certain amount of space around us.Aren’t they treating you well?I thought that was your dream internship!”

Marinette sniffled.“They’ve been great.Everyone has been great.I’ve learned so much more than I thought I would.I mean, I got to work on hemlines.Who heard of an intern working on hemlines!”

Chloe struggled to keep her face neutral and sent a silent word of thanks to the heavens as her drink arrived.Granted, hemlines mattered.Featuring her legs mattered.If not to anyone else, then at least it mattered to her.“OK.So you’ve worked on some important things.”

“Not as important as décollatage.Gabriel handles that personally.But so important.I kept thinking that you might wear a skirt I had worked on.It was a bit scary to be responsible for the best legs in Paris.”

“You think that I have the best legs in Paris?”

“Chloe, everyone thinks that you have the best legs in Paris.”

Chloe seriously doubted that.If people thought that, they never wrote about it or mentioned it to her. “Well.I appreciate your attention to detail.When the autumn line is out, be sure to let me know which skirts I should look at.”

“Of course, Chloe.I told you when I got this internship that I’d take care of you!”

“You did.Alright.So it sounds like everything is perfect.Why the tears?”

Marinette drained her daiquiri and signaled for another.“There are two problems, actually.The first is that Agreste requires workers to be married, dumped, or tragically bereft.Something about shoulders?”

“It can’t be about shoulders, or you’d be right in.”Chloe looked at the ceiling in thought.“I think I remember Adrien saying something about that ages ago.I just can’t believe it is still a thing.Can you get out of it?”

“Not easily.Which leaves problem number two.I told Gabriel that I was engaged.”

“You what?”Chloe burst out laughing.“Marinette, you don’t even date! I mean, you don’t, do you?”

“You know very well that I don’t.Adrien never seemed interested that way, Luka was a disaster, and, I don’t know.After that, it was a mix of being too busy and giving up.”

“That was years ago!I thought you had some dates after that?”

“First dates.A lot of first dates for a while.That all fed in to the ‘giving up’ thing.”

Chloe rested her chin in her cupped hands.“I guess that explains why you had all of those Friday and Saturday nights to go through old fashion magazines with me.”

Marinette smiled.“I would have done that anyway.I can’t believe your Mother left you all of her old, failed magazines.What a gold mine!”

Chloe looked at Marinette and smiled back at her.“I think I would have burned all of that stuff if it hadn’t been for you.I don’t think I could have dealt with archiving all of that by myself.It hurt too much.”

“I’m glad that you didn’t burn it.That 35mm real of interviews with Daphne Rousseau is priceless.And it was nice to get to know you for real.”

“That was probably overdue.Even if you are a hopeless do-gooder.”

“Even if you are horrid bitch.”

They clinked glasses and sipped.

“So, Marinette, what the hell are you going to do?How much time do you have?”

“I need to produce a marriage certificate before I turn 21.Otherwise, it is a visit to Nathalie’s office for an exit interview, and a career shot to hell before it ever started.”

“You and Adrien are still really close.Maybe you could arrange a deal with him?”

“No way.If Adrien were engaged, then Gabriel would know.Besides, even if Gabriel approved — and he wouldn’t — I think I’d lose my mind pretending to be involved with Adrien.You’d think the problem would be Adrien selling it, but I don’t think that I could.”

“Luka?”

“I don’t think Mireille Caquet would appreciate my asking.And I don’t think Luka would either.”

“Wait, are they together?”

“According to Juleka, they are energetically together.”

Chloe laughed.“I don’t think Rose and Juleka can complain about that, can they?”

Marinette grinned.“Apparently, they can.Luka just laughs at them, though.”

They drank in silence as the bar slowly filled.After she finished her third drink, Marinette let out a sigh.“I think I’m trashed.And I know that I’m screwed.”She turned to Chloe and put her hand on Chloe’s arm.“Thank you for sitting with me and trying to save me from this mess.I think that I’m just going to have to go back in tomorrow morning and tell Gabriel the truth.”

Chloe frowned.She hurt inside.Wasn’t the alcohol supposed to keep that from happening?She looked in Marinette’s eyes, and the pain doubled as she watched a tear gather on a long, dark, perfect lash and fall to wend its way down a faintly freckled cheek.

Marinette stood up to leave, swaying a bit as she gathered her things.Chloe reached out to stop her.

“Marinette?I have an idea.”


End file.
